Surgical apparatus



Jane 14, 1947.

B PAGE SURGICAL APPARATUS Filed March 15, 1944 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Jan. 14, 1947 Bruno Page, New York, N. Y., assignor to Schering & Glatz, Inc., New I ork, N. 1., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 15, 1944, Serial No.526,'511

a 2 Claims.

The presentinvention relates to dispensing apparatus for administration of medicinals and nutrients. In "the embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, the apparatus is primarily .intended for parenteral administration of solutions. Such apparatus includes a device known as a drip meter or tube for visually indicating to the operator the rate of flow of the solution being injected into the patient in order that he may control the rate .of flow. Such devices usually comprise a glass tube having an internal'anol downwardly extending nozzle which causes the solution passingitherethrough to leave such nozzle in the form of drops. Heretofore these devices have been .made has separate .instrumentalities, being provided at their ends with integral nipples whereby they may be inserted into the flow of thel fiuid from the container supplying such liquid to the needle. Ordinarily such devices are .inserted into'theiflowof the liquid at a pointspaced from the container'and needle by sections of rubber tubing. As this arrangement necessitates the use of many parts which are diflicult to keep free from contamination and to assemble, the art idevised .a special-form of plus or stopperrfor the container which enabled the drip device to be directly connected thereto. This arrangement eliminatedsome of the .disadvantages previously encountered but was :not entirelysatisfactory because it still necessitated care :in the handling of the drip device to .keep it .free from contamination. Furthermore, it was .found that unless the drip device was .inserted'into the stopper rat .the proper angle and with great care, .it frequently broke under the pressure required forsuchsinsertion, thereby causing injury to the fingers, the loss of medication, "etc.

The principal object of the. present invention is to provide apparatus of the indicated type which will be free of the disadvantages above mentioned :and in which a .flow indicating :device :is mounted within. and "forms part of the container for the solution to be administered. A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus in which the drops discharge by the flow indicator device inthe use of the apparatus are magnified, thereby enabling an operator to observe the rate of .flow of the fluid more readily.

A still further object of the invention is to providesimple apparatus, of veryiew .parts which can be readily assembled and disassembled, which may :be readily :cleaned and maintained in a sanitaryscondition, which :will'lim'inate any possibility not injury .to the operator and which will 2 reduce the possibility-ohcontamination toa minimum.

A still -f-urther object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is rugged .in construction and will withstand the jarring and other shocks incidental :tO packaging, shipping and using such apparatus.

Astill further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which "can be assembled for nserapid-ly and witha minimum of eiiort on the .part of the operator.

:Other objects and advantageswill be apparent .to those skilled in the art ..-from the following detailed description of what is now considered the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Theinvention accordingly comprises the ;fea tures of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangementof parts, which will be'exemplifled in the construction hereinafter set forthand theiscope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

The invention general comprises a receptacle provided with a stopper which carries a .-fiow indicating device which projects inwardly of the vessel when the stopper is in; position, and means forefiecting a connection between the receptacle stopper and tubing for transportation of the liquid within the receptacle to the point of introduction into the bloodstream of a patient-or other desired use.

For .a more detailed description .ofthe invention reference is made "to the :attached drawing in which:

1 is :an :elevational view of the entire apparatus with some parts shown .in section in order to illustrate'their .constructionmore clearly;

:Fig. 32 is an enlarged vertical cross sectional view of the :upper part of the container of the apparatus;

. Fig. 3 is :a top plan view of the stopper =forthe container;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the stopper taken substantially on the plane indicated by'the line c4 4 of Fig. 3 .and looking inthe direction of the arrows; .and

Fig; i5 .is an aelevat'i'onal .view :of a connector for effecting connection between the containerior receptacleand 'the tubingfor conveying the liquid to the point of use.

Referring to the drawing and Figs. -1 and 2 particular, the apparatus ;comprises .a icontainer Ill :for the liquid medicament 101 nutritional solutionwhichiistoibe injected into the blood stream of the patient. The lower end :of the container,

which in the drawing for the purpose :of exverted position upon a support which may be any suitable hook, preferably located at an elevated position relative to the patient. The container I is provided with a neck 14 whose open end is closed by a stopper [5 which may be made of rubber or any other suitable material.

The stopper 15 includes a body portion which snugly fits in the open neck of M and an outwardly extending flange l6 which seats on'the upper end of the neck I4 of the bottle container,

the construction of the stopper with relation to the container neck being such that it hermetically seals the liquid contents I! of the container within the container prior to use.

p The stopper I5 is provided with an opening 18 which extends from the inner end of the stopper to a point near the outer surface of the stopper where it'is closed by a relatively thin wall l9 which separates the opening from a depression 20 formed within the top of the stopper. A vent tube 2| is snugly seated within the opening 18 for a purpose which will be'later described.

Additional blindopenings of the type provided by the elements 18, I9 and-2fl can be provided in the stopper as desired. As-least one additional opening is frequently desired to enable the operatorto insert a-hypodermic needle through the thin wall of the additional opening to introduce any desired additional medicament into the container.

The stopper [5 has a second opening 22 provided therein which extends to a point below the upper surface of the stopper as viewed in Fig. 2- and is closed by a thin wall 23 which separates the opening from an indentation formed in the top of the stopper. The opening 22 has a bead 26 formed therein for a purpose which will be described later. V A circular" groove 28 is formed in the body of the stopper 15 substantially concentric with the opening 22 and which terminates ata point well within the'body of the stopper. The circular groove'28 receives the open end of the flow indicatingdevice 39, which in the form illustrated comprises a substantially tubular member 32 closed atone end by wall 34 which carries a nozzle 35 inverted within the tubular body'32.

During the filling of the apparatus thecontainer it! is first filled-t0 some desired point with the liquid l1 after which the air is evacuated from the unfilled'spaceof the bottle to any desired extent and the stopper l 5 and the flow indicating device 39 and the vent tube 2|, which have been previously assembled, are inserted into :the bottle' to hermetically seal the same, to concurrently prevent leakage of the liquid and the ingress of air. l I a a The body of rubber-like material 38 formed by the groove 28 and the outer wall of the groove 28 grip the transparent tube 32 between them and prevent displacements of the flow indicating deviceby the jarring and other shocks incidental to handling and shipment of the apparatus.

For effecting connection between the container and the tubing which leads to the injection needle a suitable connector is employed (see Fig. 5). The connector 40 comprises a body 42 which is provided with a suitable bore 44 andisformed at on end in the'shape of a bossAB over which one end of, the .tubing '54 is suitably forced.

Flanges 48 and 49 extend from the body 42 and the end of th connector opposite from the boss 46 forms a stem 50 which is reduced in diameter at a point 52 by means of a suitably curved groove which will snugly fit the configuration of the bead 26 in the stopper. The flange 48 serves as a suitable stop for the connector during its insertion into the rubber stopper, as will be more fully explained hereinafter, and the flange 49 serves as a means for gripping th connector by the operators fingers during the insertion of the connector and during withdrawal of the connector incidental to disassembly of the apparatus.

In preparation of the apparatus for use the operator suitably moistens the thin walls l9 and '23 and then pushes the stem 50 of the connector to which a tubing has been attached through the thin ,wall 23. This puncturing will produce an audible click which apprises the operator that the thin wall had been punctured. The operator then continues the insertionoi the plug into the stopper and when the bead 25 snaps into position in the groove 52 there will be'a second audible click which indicates to the operator that the connector is fully seated in positionin the stopper, at which tim theflange 48 will cooperate with the groove 52 and the bead 26' in stopping the movement of the connector into the opening 22 and will 'be in contact with the upper surface of the stopper to conjointly aid in sealing the connector in position. 7 I

The operator then punctures the thin wall lS by any suitable instrumentality such as a needle so as. to permit communication between the atmosphere and vent tube 2| so as to permit air to pass up through the tube 2| to the space above the liquid IT to allow air into the space when the container is inverted to allow for the'free passage of the liquid out of the container. The container is then inverted and suspended by the bail-l2 at any desired position above the point of injection' of the liquid into'the veins of the patient to provide the proper hydrostatic head-on the liquid. While in this positon the weight of the tubing 54 is readily supported by the connector 4E! withoutunintentionally withdrawing the connector because'of the coaction between the connector groove and the bead 26 of the stopper. When the time arrives,however, to withdraw the connector from the container'afteradministration of the liquid has been completed the application of a sufficient reasonable force to with-' draw the groove 52 of the adapter from within the. head 26 will permit unobstructed removal of theconnector." 2 v V With the container in inverted position and after the needle 56, which is of any desired construction is inserted into theivein of the patient, the rate of passage of the liquid into'the veins is controlled by any suitable clamp-valve '58.

The rate of flow of the liquid is readilyascer tained by counting the drops of..solution falling from the tip of the nozzle 36 as illustrated at 50 in Fig. l. I. "I

y In addition to providing a self -lo'ckingseat for the connector 40; the bead 26 servesduring the insertion of the connector 40 to'prevent anytende ency on the part of the tube 'flow indicating device 30 to be dislodged from the groovei28 dueto flexing of the stopper under the force of the connector 40 due to the fact that the passage of the forward end 44 of the connector. through the opening formed bythe bead 26 tends to regularly expand thebody. 38 and thereby'grip the tube 32 and hold the same firmlylin position until the groove 52 on the connector seats over the bead 25 at which time the additional gripping action on the tubing 30 is partially relaxed but partially continued due to the expanding action of the entire stem 59 on the material forming body 38.

The connector 6e may be formed of any desired material such as glass, hard rubber, a synthetic resin or the like because the construction of the apparatus of the present invention reduces the force which is required to insert the connector into the stopper to a minimum and thereby reduces the likelihood of breakage.

The general assemblage and construction of the apparatus of the present invention makes it possible to rapidly assemble the apparatus originally, make the apparatus ready for use, disassemble and sterilize the apparatus after use and refill and thereafter resassemble the apparatus. In this manner no material is lost as is the case when relatively complicated sealing bands and breakable metallic sealing tapes and the like are emplayed.

The present application is in part a continuation of application Serial No. 481,225, filed March 31, 1943.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and difierent embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is:

1. Dispensing apparatus comprising a container and deformable stopper therefor having a circular groove formed on the inner face thereof, a substantially tubular transparent drip member seated in said groove extending into the container and wholly enclosed thereby, the portion of the closure extending into the area confined by said groove having an opening therethrough to the opposite face of the stopper and a connector member extending into said opening from the opposite face of the stopper to a point adjacent the inner end of the tubular drip member compressing the portion of the closurelconfined by said groove against the inner end of the tubular drip member.

2. Dispensing apparatus comprising a container and deformable stopper therefor having a circular groove formed on the inner face thereof, a substantially tubular transparent drip member seated in said groove extending into the container and wholly enclosed thereby, the portion of the closure extending into the area confined by said groove having an opening therethrough to the opposite face of the stopper, a bead within the said opening from the opposite face of the stopper and a connector member extending into said opening to a point adjacent the inner end of the tubular drip member in frictional engagement with said bead compressing the portion of the closure confined by the said groove against the inner end of the tubular drip member.

v BRUNO PAGE. 

